Auntie Anne's Owes Its Iconic Pretzel Recipe To A Shipping Mishap

When you go to Auntie Anne's, you pretty much know what you're going to get. Auntie Anne's menu includes dips (caramel, honey mustard, marinara, etc.) and drinks (lemonade, soda, tea), but you're unlikely to get any of those without the main course: Pretzels. Whether it's the Jalapeño & Cheese Pretzel Dog, the Pepperoni Pretzel Nuggets, or one of the many soft pretzels (Cinnamon Sugar, Raisin, Sweet Almond, and more), the true draw of Auntie Anne's is, of course, the bready snacks and sweet treats.

This focus on pretzels has paid off. As documented by Nation's Restaurant News the quick service chain makes hundreds of millions of dollars a year and has over 1,000 locations scattered all across the United States, mostly in airports and malls. Auntie Anne's is one of the best food court restaurants out there. Somewhat surprising, considering that the chain has only been around since 1988.

So what's the secret behind its recipe?

Auntie Anne is a real person! In a video for Fortune, Anne Beiler described how she wanted to support her husband's dream of being a marriage and family counselor who gave back to his community for free (via TIME). In order to let him do so, the couple needed income, and thus, with a family loan, Beiler purchased a farmers' market stand. Auntie Anne's states that Beiler experimented with recipes before finalizing her freshly-baked masterpiece, yet she keeps her culinary key to success a secret. According to Nation's Restaurant News, whatever the breakthrough was, it allowed the company to multiply into hundreds of stores via franchising within just a couple of years. Over time, it even became the biggest soft pretzel franchise across the globe (and Beiler's husband achieved his dream).

While speaking to the Washington Post back in 2008, Beiler gave a little bit more detail on what made it all possible: A shipping mishap led to Auntie Anne's iconic recipe. Stuck with the wrong ingredients for her pretzels, Beiler turned to her husband Jonas, who added in a mystery ingredient to salvage the snacks. That component remains a key part of the recipe yet also has stayed a secret. What could it be? The original pretzel consists of five ingredients, according to Auntie Anne's, but what precisely they are and which one is the linchpin remains unclear. Still, we're pretty confident we've figured out the Auntie Anne's Pretzel recipe.

There are a few clues sprinkled in amongst this story. As noted by Auntie Anne's, the farmers' market stand was located in Pennsylvania, and per the Washington Post, Beiler's initial offerings were modeled after the traditional fatty-dough pretzels of the Pennsylvania Dutch. As explained by PA Eats, pretzels are ubiquitous in Pennsylvania, with dozens of Pennsylvanian pretzel companies, such as Synder's of Hanover and Auntie Anne's, providing around 80% of U.S. pretzels. The Keystone State even holds annual pretzel festivals. This is because German immigrants who came to be known as the Pennsylvania Dutch brought the European practice of making pretzels to the state in the 1700s. Going into the 1800s, these snacks were mostly made at home, but by 1861, the practice went commercial. Inspired by that tradition, Beiler helped to popularize pretzels even more.

Beiler has since sold her company to a distant relative, and the brand is moving into new types of spaces, like colleges and city centers, per Nation's Restaurant News. Auntie Anne's now caters and has food trucks, too. In 2021, the business opened its first drive-thru site with partner Jamba Juice. QSR Magazine reports that this particular decision has gone viral and over a dozen more drive-thrus are underway. "We like to think of ourselves as a snack leader," said Auntie Anne's chief brand officer Alisa Gmelich.

That leadership all began with a family's perseverance and a botched delivery.